That was settled, and things proceeded according to plan.

Around four or five o'clock in the afternoon, Chen Xihua, Chen Lao Er, and Li Yumei returned to Shanghe Village.

Chen Jinhua also quietly followed and stopped at an intersection not far from Shanghe Village.

The three of them went directly to Old Man Li's house.

Li Dashun and Ye Zhen waited at the door with their youngest daughter; Li Dongming and his two younger brothers were not home.

Li Yongmei and Li Dongmei were also there, but their husbands did not appear.

Although they are siblings, Li Yumei and the others didn't say anything.

She went straight into Old Man Li's room.

A dark room, tattered bedding, and a gaunt old man lying motionless on the bed.

Old Man Li's sunken eye sockets and protruding forehead made him look rather unpleasant at first glance.

Chen Xihua glanced inside from the doorway but didn't go in. She figured Old Man Li must be being abused by his children and grandchildren.

At this moment, as if sensing something, Old Man Li slowly opened his eyes.

When he saw who it was, a glimmer of light appeared in his cloudy eyes.

With her chapped lips slightly parted, she managed to utter a single, strained sentence: "Third Girl, you're back!"

Old Li seemed to smile, but it wasn't obvious.

Li Yumei didn't say anything and stood quietly inside for a few minutes.

Perhaps it was because it wasn't as cold as the previous days, or perhaps Old Man Li saw that Li Yumei and the others had come back to visit him.

His mental state has improved a lot, and I reckon he can hold on for at least a little while longer; it's not as serious as Li Dongming said.

Chen Xihua knew even more clearly that this was just an excuse Li Dongming had come up with.

She leaned closer to Chen Lao Er and whispered, "Dad, I'm going back to the old house to take a look."

After saying that, she walked out alone, nodding to the others in the courtyard as a greeting.

Walking along the rural roads of Shanghe Village, Chen Xihua felt a little dazed.

The place where she first lived when she traveled back in time.

She could call most people in the village by name, except for the children, and they all greeted Chen Xihua.

Village Chief Grandpa Li has retired, and Village Party Secretary Fifth Grandpa passed away at the beginning of the year.

Standing in front of the old house that her grandmother left for Chen Xihua.

Aunt Wang, the village chief's daughter-in-law, sometimes helps with cleaning, so it's not too dilapidated.

At this moment, a village boy, about five or six years old and very thin, ran up to Chen Xihua:

"Are you Aunt Xihua? Over there, on the hillside."

Uncle Dongming said he saw Aunt Chahua over there and asked you to come over.

"They've arrived," Chen Xihua confirmed. It must have been Li Dongming calling her, not Chahua.

She vaguely remembered Li Chahua; she was the daughter of Aunt Wang from the village chief's family, and they were the same age.

When they were children, the original owner and Li Chahua seemed to have a pretty good relationship; they even went to the mountains together to collect firewood.

Li Dongming really went to great lengths, even using Li Chahua to arrange a private meeting with her.

"Okay, thank you, little friend," Chen Xihua said with a gentle smile.

Then, she looked around and chose a handy wooden stick from under the eaves of the old house.

She hadn't used the "seven moves and eight techniques" of the staff for a long time, and was still a bit rusty.

The path on the other side of the hill is difficult to walk on. She will use the wooden stick as a handrail to walk, so as not to attract attention.

Although she knew that her second sister had already reached the village entrance.

But she wouldn't disregard her own safety and walk over without any preparation.

"Second sister, you can get ready!" Chen Xihua called her second sister first.

Tell her to go into the village soon, and then turn on the phone's recording function.

Winter days are shorter, and it's getting dark now.

When Chen Xihua reached the end of Shanghe Village, at the foot of a small hill, she saw Li Dongming waiting for her.

"Cousin Xihua, do you still remember Li Chahua? She was just chopping wood up there."

She heard you were back and wanted to see you, but she was afraid you'd forgotten her, so she was too shy to ask.

I said, "You must remember her, so I had Xiaohuzi call you here."

"You two used to be good friends, so you really do remember her and came. I'll take you upstairs."

Li Dongming was afraid that Chen Xihua would see through his act, so he was a little nervous and avoided looking at Chen Xihua, not caring that she was holding a stick.

Without waiting for her to respond, he started talking to himself in a familiar manner.

Li Dongming seemed to have completely forgotten that just a few days ago, he was still at the Chen family's house when he was thrown out by the second sister.

As he spoke, he took the lead and walked up the hillside.

"Great! It's been a long time since I've seen Camellia Sister!"

Chen Xihua smiled faintly, looking somewhat expectant, seemingly without any ulterior motives, and followed him with complete peace of mind.

Of course, she kept a distance.

After the two climbed up the hillside and came to a ravine, five men suddenly jumped out from the side.

Including Li Dongming, the six of them surrounded Chen Xihua.

She feigned fear and acted defensively: "What do you want to do? Don't come any closer, I will, I will hit you."

"Hehehe, Sister Chen, do you still remember me? I'm your sweetheart!"

"What do we want? We want to do... you!"

"Hahaha...…"

Immediately afterwards, the group launched into a tirade of vulgarities.

As they laughed and teased her, Chen Xihua had already recognized them.

Chen Xihua recognized two of them: Huang Tianming and Liang Jiale.

The two had rather short hair; they probably had buzz cuts when they came out, but it had been dyed yellow.

I vaguely remember the other two.

The most eye-catching person among them was Xu Hao, a man in his forties or fifties.

He was tall and had a scar from his neck to his left ear.

He was the only one who remained silent, observing Chen Xihua without making a sound.

Is this person Lu Qiye's girlfriend in Beijing?

She is indeed stunningly beautiful, a woman who could bewitch Lu Zhengjing and make him lose his mind!

Chen Xihua had already keenly sensed something was off about the other person's eyes.

Just as my second sister said, this person is indeed suspicious.

However, she pretended not to look at him, turned to Li Dongming, and questioned him incredulously:

"Li Dongming, it's you! Because I refused to lend you money, you actually tried to harm me like this! You're so despicable!"

Li Dongming stopped pretending and said smugly, "Yeah, cousin, who told you to be so ungrateful?"

If you have so much money, just give us some to spend, and everything will be fine.

What a pity, you're so ungrateful! I'm your own cousin, you were heartless first, so don't blame me for being ruthless too!

"Do you, do you, does your father, Uncle Li, know about this?" Chen Xihua still seemed incredulous and pressed for an answer.

"Haha... Of course Li Dashun knows! He's the one who came up with the idea!"

Huang Tianming said with a smile, not forgetting to include the Li family as well.

In fact, the Li family father and son did know, but the plan was conceived by Huang Tianming and Liang Jiale, and the location was chosen by the Li family father and son.

Chen Xihua's eyes widened, both angry and panicked, and she reached for her phone, shouting, "I'm calling the police! I'll have you arrested!"

"Brother Hao, let's do it!" Huang Tianming stepped forward and said to Xu Hao beside him.

Seeing that Chen Xihua wanted to call the police, they didn't want to waste any more words.

And he couldn't wait any longer; this woman's skin was damn fair.

Xu Hao strode forward, stretched out his large hand, and was about to grab Chen Xihua's shoulder.

Several people nearby also moved closer, trying to block her way out.